Everyday
by general wildcat
Summary: "Everyday of our lives wanna find you there, wanna hold on tight." Everyday after you graduate you wonder where you're going to be. If you'll get a job. Where your life is going. Taking each day as it comes. But when you have someone by your side it doesn't seem so bad. Because everyday you have something to look forward to. Everyday is for your other half. Chaylor.
1. Chapter 1

So this is a new story I've been working on. I don't know why when I can't even keep 2 stories at once going. Stupid brain with all these ideas. Obviously it's Chaylor cause they're my favorite and totally awesome. I can't say I know what direction this story is going in, what's going to happen or where i want it to end. I mean, i have ideas for chapters and obviously a plot... How about i just let you guys start with the first chapter and we'll take it from there. Kay? :)  
P.S. Just a quick note to TheCreativePenguinLover, thank you for getting your next chapter of Ups and Downs up so i could share this chapter with everyone. Hopefully these stories are helping people get their Chaylor fixes cause i know it sure helps me! ^^  
**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of the characters.**

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**Chapter One**

_"I now present East High's class of 2008!"_

_The audience on East High School's football field cheered as the final graduate received his diploma. In a split second, hats were thrown in the air, everyone was cheering and students were running around the field._

It was hard to believe that was four years ago. Everything seemed so much smaller then. Suddenly a bunch of teenagers were being thrown into the world of college. More homework. More studying. More coffee. More pressure. To a bunch of eighteen-year-olds it seemed like just the beginning.

Graduating college was a different story entirely. It wasn't about what there was more of anymore. It was all about the real world. Money. A job. A new home. A future. They may have been twenty-two now, but they were still kids being thrown into the real world.

So when Chad got home from his graduation ceremony everything felt surreal. This was a guy who thought he had his whole future planned out. He'd go to the University of Albuquerque on a sports scholarship. He'd play basketball. Just barely pass his classes. Then get drafted into the NBA. But the thing was, none of that happened. He wasn't at U of A for more than a year. He hardly focused on basketball. And he didn't get drafted into the NBA. Instead he transferred to the University of New Mexico. His major in Physical Education left minimal time to play on the basketball team. And save for a few subjects, Chad did pretty well; he graduated with a 3.45 GPA. It was a shock to everyone, actually. Even Chad surprised himself sometimes. Then there were times were Chad would hardly be surprised. Considering whom he was dating, it was hard not to focus and try to do well.

Chad had been dating Taylor since high school. April of junior year, to be exact. For two people who were nothing alike, they went pretty strong for two years. They brought out the best in each other. Dating in high school was hardly a big deal. It was keeping the relationship going through college that was the problem. While Chad spent a semester at U of A, Taylor went across the country to Yale. They thought their relationship could last the distance. But it didn't. With little time to talk to each other, no physical contact, and a few pictures circulating the Internet they just fell apart. But that was an understatement. They didn't just fell apart. They were completely broken. Breaking up forced them to lose a piece of themselves; neither of them liked it. At that point, Taylor buried herself into her schoolwork and Chad transferred to UNM. It wasn't a good semester for either of them.

Then there was sophomore year. Roughly a month into the first semester, Chad was shocked to find Taylor at the school. She had transferred from Yale in order to be closer to home. Needless to say, it wasn't long before they got back together. All it took were a few shared classes, some lunch breaks together and one all-nighter. Those were meetings that Chad was grateful for; had he not even seen Taylor, he'd have no idea where or who he'd end up with. One semester being away from her was rough. One of nothing to do with her stunk. He was able to get through college because of her. Now they were graduates. It was just a matter of where to go from there.

The first step was dinner. Taylor spent the day celebrating with her family and Chad's parents were preparing a huge party for him the next day. So in that wake of insane graduation celebrations they had to meet up for at least a couple of hours. Odds were that the excitement would die down throughout the week and by next weekend they could go out on a real date. For tonight, it was between Friendly's and Subway in favor of keeping it simple. They decided on Subway, which would be followed by sharing dessert at Red Mango. Chad was out of his house at six on the dot and was at Taylor's by 6:15. Of course there was some brief mingling between him and Taylor's family. More like nearly an hour's worth. They were lucky to get in the car by 7:10. The ride was peaceful, quiet. It was a nice change. Upon arriving at Subway they each ordered their sandwiches – Chad a grilled chicken and Taylor a turkey. With a small bag of Lay's potato chips and a large Mountain Dew to share, they sat themselves at one of the booths and proceeded to eat.

"It feels so nice to get out of the house," Taylor sighed with relief.

"Madhouse much?" Chad chuckled. He'd felt suffocated after only being in her house for an hour.

"Don't get me started," she groaned. "Aside from my mom there was Cassie and Kari, Grandma McKessie, Pop-Pop and Mi-Mi, Uncle Brad, Aunt Ari, cousins Mickey, Shandra, Bailey and Riley, Uncle Art and cousins Ray and Prescott, Mom's best friend, the crazy cat lady from next door, and Uncle Tyrell and his 'special friend' Uncle Danielle."

Chad raised an eyebrow.

Taylor held her hand up and shook her head. "Don't ask."

"About your uncle's 'special friend' or why the crazy cat lady from next door was there?" he asked.

Taylor paused and thought for a minute. "Crazy cat lady," she answered.

Chad couldn't help but chuckle. "You have such a colorful family."

"Oh yeah? What about you and your sisters? Those girls are energetic enough to put my family to shame," she teased.

"You're a girl and have one big sister. Try being a guy with three," Chad responded.

Taylor smiled and rolled her eyes. "The last time it was even this crazy…"

"It was high school graduation," Chad finished. "I mean at least then we were able to chill for the summer before getting everything ready in August but now it's like…you know, what do we do now?"

Taylor shrugged her shoulders. "Find jobs, I guess."

"They make it sound so easy," Chad said sipping the drink.

"It's not," Taylor stated.

"Not for you. Not for Troy," Chad pointed out. "Your internship offered you a job already and Troy might have a position in California. And the guy still has time to plan his wedding."

Troy was Chad's best friend and happened to be dating Taylor's best friend Gabriella. Both went to California, Berkley and Stanford respectively. But everyone knew the only reason Troy went to Berkley was because it was close to Gabriella's school. Unlike Chad and Taylor who had to wait it out two months to see if long distance would work for them, Troy and Gabriella knew after two weeks. Gabriella was accepted early to Stanford and Troy spent two weeks at East High completely depressed without her. Now they were still together and engaged; their wedding was set for later in the summer.

"Troy and I just got lucky. Jobs don't always happen that fast for recent graduates," Taylor told him. "Gabriella graduated last week and she's not working where she interned. She's not even looking for a full-time job until after the wedding."

"Gabs'll get a job, no problem," Chad replied biting his sandwich. "Her, Troy, you…you all know what you wanna do. But for me it's more like where do I go from here, you know?"

Taylor placed her hand over his. "We just graduated this morning, Chad. There's plenty of time to figure it out."

"I know," he nodded intertwining his fingers with hers. "It'd just be nice to know sooner rather than later. They make such a big deal of getting us ready for the real world and how we need to get jobs but then it doesn't happen and we sit around the house like nothing's changed."

"It's different for everyone. Why don't you take a month off to relax and start looking in July?" she suggested.

"I don't know," Chad shook his head. "I'll be fine. You just focus on making your internship a permanent thing." He shouldn't have vented to Taylor. She was right; they only just graduated. They were just getting started. There was plenty of time left to figure out what to do with their lives and find a job. There'd been enough times during school when Chad would vent to Taylor about the world load or that he didn't think he'd have enough time to do it all. He knew she'd never admit it but it affected her, too. The time she spent helping him out with an assignment was time she could have used on her own work and she couldn't put as much energy into it. Sometimes the comfort level Chad felt when he was around Taylor was so insane, he didn't even realize what he was saying to her or that he was venting. He just felt like he could talk to her about anything.

Taylor stood up and pulled Chad out of the booth. "Come on," she said, "I think I know what'll cheer you up." She led him out to the car and took the car keys from him.

Chad looked out the window while Taylor drove. "This isn't the way to Red Mango," he said.

"That's because we're not going to Red Mango," she answered. Within a few minutes they were at the park. Taylor led Chad to the basketball court. She picked up a basketball from the rack and tossed it to Chad. "This always cheers you up."

Chad caught the ball and stared at it. He fiddled with it in his hands a little but didn't do too much else. In the past he'd run around the court, dribble the ball and make any shot he could. But he didn't feel like doing that this time. Instead he tossed it back to Taylor. "I'm not really in the mood."

Taylor quirked an eyebrow. "You never turn down basketball." She tossed it back to Chad.

He shrugged his shoulders. "There's a first time for everything," he said before throwing it back to her.

"Chad I've known you since the second grade. There wasn't a day where you wouldn't want to play," she said. "I just thought since you haven't gotten to play in a while, maybe it'd make you feel better."

"Sometimes things change. People change," Chad replied.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"When I was growing up, basketball was my motivation for everything," Chad explained. "If I wanted to stay on the team I had to do well in school. If I wanted to stay on the team I'd have to behave. Then we got together and…I don't know, you kinda made me rethink everything. Like summer of junior year, like two months after we got together, and I went to basketball camp for two weeks. All I could think about was, 'dang, if it's this hard for two weeks what's it gonna be like when I'm traveling in the NBA all the time?' Then I found out you were going to Yale. And my first thought was, 'we need to break up.'"

"But we didn't," she pointed out.

"I know," he nodded. "And two months into freshman year we did break up."

Taylor folded her arms and took a step back. Clearly it wasn't something she liked to think about. "Why bring that up?"

"Because that's when everything changed. And it completely sucked. I couldn't focus on anything, I didn't wanna play basketball…. You know, I just needed to get away from everything. I transferred to UNM to get a fresh start. But it didn't get any better. It was the worst semester. Then you came back. And I didn't even know why or care why," he explained.

Taylor shrugged her shoulders. "I told you, I wanted to be closer to home."

Chad didn't believe it for a second. "No you didn't. You always said you couldn't wait to get outta your house and live on your own, go away to school and be independent. You loved Yale. Why'd you leave that after a year for this?"

It was a question Chad had been asking for a while now. Why? Every time Yale was brought up Chad would ask, 'Why did you leave anyway?' Her answer was always the same. But maybe this time was the final straw. Maybe after being asked twenty-something times already, this time was the time Chad would find out the truth.

Taylor sighed. "Remember when Gabriella told me she got early acceptance into Stanford? But she was thinking of going to U of A instead to be with Troy and I pushed her to choose Stanford so a guy wouldn't hold her back?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

"Our breakup was kind of like that. I never thought I'd feel so strongly about a guy that I'd consider dropping my dream college to going back home to be with him," she explained. "I knew New Mexico had some great schools, but I didn't want to give up everything I fought for at Yale. And I didn't want to admit that it stunk there without you. I thought that when we started college we'd still have time to talk to each other or IM or something. And it didn't turn out that way at all. So when we broke up, I felt like there was no reason to take a break and I just buried myself in my schoolwork. I tried to stick it out for an extra semester but it didn't work out the way I planned at all. Being on my own away from home meant nothing if I had no one to share it with."

Chad raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that an oxymoron?"

"No, but it is contradictory," she answered. "My point is, there was no one there I wanted to spend time with. And I didn't have you to talk to so I could take my mind off of something or feel better. The truth was that I needed you just as much as you needed me and I didn't want to admit it or that my feelings were stronger than I ever gave them credit for."

Chad couldn't help but chuckle lightly. "You could tell I needed you?"

"Well, those tons of tutoring session were kind of a dead give-away," Taylor said.

"Or an excuse to spend more time with you," Chad admitted. "Those times with you made me wanna do better than basketball ever could. And if two months screwed us over imagine what traveling like half the year would do. It kinda makes me glad that I know I'm not going to the NBA, but at the same time it still kinda sucks cause at least then I would have had a plan."

"I'm sensing there'd be a catch there," she stated picking up the basketball.

"The catch would be that either you'd come with me or I wouldn't go at all," he answered. "I still like basketball, but I don't know if I love it enough now to wanna play it my whole life all the time. And it's definitely not worth losing you."

"Why do you think I'm working at a newspaper doing research for political op-ed columns and spell-checking everything instead of actually studying to be a politician?" Taylor replied. "The president would be in office for four years. Traveling would be at least ten times more than an athlete. Add on meetings with the cabinet, ambassadors, and speeches, not to mention possible assassination threats…. If you can't imagine being away from me for half a year, how am I supposed to imagine being away from you for nearly four years? You're not the only one whose plans changed." She tossed the basketball to him and he nodded.

"I know. But this is uncharted territory. Everyone is growing up and moving on with their lives and I just feel like I'm still at the same spot. So what's to stop you from going out and finding someone that's better prepared for this or more deserving of you?" Chad said before tossing the ball back.

"I'll decide who's most deserving of me. And there's no one better suited than you," she answered. Taylor threw the ball back to him and took a few steps closer. "Have you ever heard the saying about letting something go and if it doesn't come back it was never yours?"

"Yeah…" he said slowly.

"Well, you let me go and I came back. So what do you think that means?" she replied.

"That you're mine?" he wondered.

"All yours," Taylor said. She playfully knocked the ball out of his hands and added teasingly, "Besides I stayed up with you three nights in a row actually helping you _study_ for anatomy. Any other girl would just _show_ you her anatomy. So you're not going to find anyone better."

"Like I'd ever look," Chad laughed before wrapping his arms around her.

"For another girl or at her anatomy?" Taylor inquired.

Chad pretended to think long and hard. "Well…" he said innocently.

"Hilarious," she laughed, playfully punching his chest.

"Ow, that hurt," he complained.

"Oh please, you have rock-hard abs. I couldn't even sting you with a punch," she rolled her eyes.

"Sure you could, the same thing happened when you kicked me in the stomach the other night," Chad said before whining again.

"I already said I'm sorry," she replied. "But the next time I know I'm going to have a dream about being one of the Power Rangers, I'll tell you to sleep on the couch."

"That's harsh. You make it hurt so bad," Chad complained.

"Oh ok," she said with a smile, "will a kiss help you feel better?"

"Yes," he answered almost too quickly. He cleared his throat and whined, "I mean, yes!"

Taylor giggled. "You're such a lunkhead." Then she leaned up and kissed him. Chad kissed her back, arms tight and secure around her. He traced circles around her back and he could feel one of her hands move into his hair. It was hard to picture them being such a sweet, mushy couple. Even Chad had a hard time believing it sometimes, especially because the mushy couple was usually Troy and Gabriella. Chad and Taylor were more of a hot, passionate couple. But it didn't mean they didn't have mushy moments like this. If it wasn't talking to her or being around her that made Chad feel so good, it was the closeness. Taylor often told Chad that when she was stressed or upset, anything Chad said or did could make her feel better. Chad was the same way, only on a more physical level. Even if Taylor did something as simple as hold his hand, it'd make him feel better in an instant. Feelings like that were things he could never get from anyone else. So when their lips broke apart, Chad couldn't help but into her ear and whisper what he was thinking.

"You know one day I'm gonna make you my wife."

Taylor smiled at the thought. "Is that a promise or a threat?"

"Oh, definitely a threat," Chad joked. He demonstrated with his deepest, creepiest voice, "One day I will make you my wife or you'll die!"

"Oh no," Taylor giggled feigning fear. "What kind of death?"

"Uh, well…I haven't decided yet," Chad admitted, his creepy voice fading.

"You're so not good at this game," Taylor teased.

"Like you've got a better death threat?" he asked.

"Maybe…" she answered innocently. "But it involves an empty cave by a swamp, luring in some crocodiles, digging a pit, and some yarn."

"Oh God, it's a slow and painful death!" Chad gasped backing away.

Taylor laughed. "Not for you! That scenario's for my boss at work."

"Why do you have it in for that guy?" Chad asked.

"Because he's a jerk who makes me wash his dog," she answered.

"Oh…" Chad said slowly. He knew first hand that Taylor could be sneaky, but he had no idea she could be so sinister. He hated to admit it, but it actually kind of turned him on. "So then…what's my death scenario?"

She smiled and held her hand out to him. "Sharing yogurt in a locked car with your girlfriend."

Chad took her hand and grinned. "Sounds more like a dream come true."

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So who's following this story? :D Anyone? No one? Ok, i'll explain. See, i always wondered exactly what happened to the Wildcats. Obviously we know they all went to college and did their own things, but what about after that? And i especially wondered how it affected Chaylor. Not just with their lives, but as a couple in comparison to Troy and Gabriella. And since I just graduated college...almost a year ago (2012) i have a pretty good idea of how it makes a person think or how it affects them and stuff. I mean, i can't speak for all college graduates, but personally for me it's something i can relate to and feel i can write decently enough. Like i said, i know things i wanna put in the story and there are things i wanna write into it and i know the plot (Chad and Taylor are recent graduates trying to work out their relationship as they move on with their lives, essentially). But i don't know what direction i want the story to go in or where i want it to end. So as the story goes on if anyone has any ideas, obviously share them. I enjoy second opinions. ^^  
My first thought was the call this story something like "Chaylor: The Post-College Years" but that seemed to long and draggy. So then i tried thinking of song lyrics, which i'm really not good at, and i settled on calling the story Everyday. It's not just kind of like a shout-out to HSM2 where we first got a glimpse into their relationship or that the song is kinda catchy and happy, but 'every day' after graduating college there's this mindset of wondering if you're gonna get an interview or what to do next. Not to mention that when two people love each other as much as Chad and Taylor do, they kind of are there for each other every day. As for this chapter, i started it in February and originally i wanted it to start out at Troy and Gabriella's wedding and Chad and Taylor would have already been (secretly) engaged. But the way the chapter is now allowing for more things to happen in between and get a better idea where they're at romantically and in their lives. And if i do say so myself, there's some pretty funny lines in there (i.e.: the uncle and his 'special friend' vs why the crazy cat lady next door was at Taylor's family's graduation party XD). One of my favorite parts that i know's gonna drive you guys crazy is Chad basically telling Taylor he plans to marry her. I had her reaction planned from the start not just as a way to be kinda funny but to also show how Chad's sense of humor rubbed off on her and they really bring out the best in each other. Cause let's face it, the HSM movies just don't prove it enough. 0=) As of right now, i have up to a portion of chapter 6 written. I don't know when i'll post the second chapter, but odds are i'll have the next chapter of 16 and Pregnant posted before then. Ok, i bored you all enough with this super-long author's note. So go ahead and return to the wonderful world of reality (maybe not) and feel free to let me know what you think of the story! Happy Sunday/Monday everyone! XD


	2. Chapter 2

It's been a while, hasn't it? I can't believe I posted this story first back in, when, March? Up until recently I had up to part of chapter seven or eight written and then i either got distracted or was focusing on 16 and Pregnant. But then last week i watched HSM3 and that kinda gave me the inspiration to go on more with this story! So now i'm up to writing chapter ten and it seems like a good time to post chapter two. Hope you guys enjoy!  
**Disclaimer: I do not own HSM or any of the characters.**

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**Chapter Two**

Chad awoke bright and early. He did the usual thing he did every morning – munched on a poptart, brushed his teeth, got dressed and grabbed his car keys. Though the excitement of graduation was finally dying down, it didn't mean he already got into a routine. In fact, Chad's schedule was still set as though it were a school day. Some days he'd get in his car and start driving in the direction of his school only to realize he didn't have school any more. Other days he'd just be finishing breakfast and ask himself what the heck he was doing up before going back to bed. Even though it was technically summer vacation now, it always took Chad a few days to settle into a new routine.

But this summer was different. It had been nearly two weeks and Chad still felt like he had school. It didn't take him this long to realize it. But after being done with his education for good, after about seventeen years worth of school, he couldn't shake the feeling. It was strange. Being a college graduate and not even being able to fathom it yet. Chad questioned what would happen come the last week of August or in September. That would be when school would start up again and it'd be the first time in seventeen years that Chad wouldn't have to go, let alone think about it. Sure, he talked about it with his friends. But their reactions varied. There was a couple that was overjoyed. There were some who were in denial. And there was some who were scared. Chad was on the cusp between denial and scared. As much as he didn't like school, he didn't feel prepared enough for the real world to be done with it; at the same time he was still thinking like a student and it didn't sink in that he wasn't anymore. But when he talked to someone like Taylor, there was no time for denial or fear or joy. She was one of the lucky ones who secured a job upon graduation and so within a few days, she was a workingwoman. It was hard to think about what the real world had in store or what was going to happen when she was already living in it. Chad envied that a little; he didn't want to think about anything, rather do something.

Luckily today wouldn't wield too much thinking. He was on his way to Taylor's to surprise her and take her to work. Afterwards he'd be going to the airport and picking up Troy. From what Chad knew, Troy's dad was stuck at the high school teaching – lucky teens not even taking finals yet – and his mom had a day full of retail work. On the list of people to get Troy from the airport, Chad was third. Either of the Boltons were the first option. Gabriella's mother was second. But those plans fell through when she found out she had a business conference in Chicago and Gabriella decided to take a flight out to see her mom. That left Troy on his flight to New Mexico alone and with Chad being the one to pick him up. After not seeing his best friend for nearly four months, it'd be nice to catch up and just chill. Chad was looking forward to that. But that's all digressing.

Taylor had the typical shift, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, though there had been a couple of instances where she was granted half-days or the schedule would allow her to be there three days during the week. So Chad was on the road by 7:30, giving him more than enough time; they'd most likely have to be out by 8:15. Ten minutes after leaving his house, Chad was at Taylor's doorstep. Her mother quickly greeted him. She looked like the kind of woman who could rip someone to shreds – obviously that's where Taylor got her attitude from – but if Ms. McKessie liked someone she was the sweetest woman in the world. Luckily for Chad, he happened to be on her good side.

"Hi Chad honey! Come in!" she greeted with a big smile.

Chad gave her a smile and nodded as he stepped into the house. "Thank you, Ms. McKessie."

She closed the door behind him and held up a finger with a hand on her hip. "Honey, how many times do I have to tell you? Stop with the 'Ms. McKessie' and 'ma'am' crap. It's Marcella to you."

"Sorry Ms. McKessie," Chad apologized. He must have been told a good twenty times that he was allowed to call Ms. McKessie by her first name. And every time he would apologize yet decline. It felt weird to him calling his girlfriend's mother by her first name. Even though Chad had always been a bit of a troublemaker, he knew enough when to be respectful. And if he knew what was good for him, one of the people he'd better damn well respect is Taylor's mother. It didn't feel very respectful to him to call her Marcella.

"Honestly I don't even know why I bother," she mumbled to herself, causing a slight chuckle from Chad. "Anyway, what brings you here so early?"

Chad shrugged his shoulders. "Thought I'd surprise Taylor and take her to work."

"Isn't that just the sweetest," Ms. McKessie smiled. "You make yourself right at home and I'll get Taylor. Help yourself to some breakfast. We've got bagels, pancakes, eggs…"

"No thanks, ma'am. I ate before I left," Chad politely declined.

She folded her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. "Sit down at that table and take something before I feed it to you like a two-year-old." It was the kind of authoritative don't-mess-with-me-or-else tone.

"Yes Ms. McKessie," Chad answered right away before practically jumping into one of the seats at the kitchen table.

"That's better," she said before guiding Chad with her eyes to take something. Chad obliged and took one hard-boiled egg off the plate. Ms. McKessie rolled her eyes but ultimately decided to let it go. "Taylor, Chad's here!" she called up the staircase.

Less than two minutes later Taylor was downstairs in her typical business attire, blazer in hand and untied tie resting on her shoulders. She smiled when she saw Chad and walked over to him. "Hey, you," she said giving him a quick kiss before occupying the empty seat next to him. "What are you doing here so early?"

"Taking you to work," he answered with a smile.

"Aw, that's so sweet," she smiled. "You didn't have to do that."

"I want to," he said.

"What are you going to do after you drop me off?" she wondered, helping herself to a couple of pancakes.

"Troy's flight does come in at ten," Chad answered. "I'm gonna get him at the airport and we're gonna grab lunch or something."

"Did he say if he knows when Gabriella's coming back?" she inquired. "She told me probably a week but nothing's certain yet."

Chad shook his head. "Beats me. But I don't think he's gonna wanna hang out with us or else he'd be a third wheel."

Taylor scrunched her nose. "Troy's a big boy. He doesn't need to be with Gabriella all the time. How is she going to shop for wedding dresses with him around?"

"Beats me," he shrugged his shoulders. "But something tells me you're not gonna let him be around that."

"Of course. Dress shopping is best friend territory. No boys allowed," Taylor answered as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Speaking of which, when do I get to help you shop for wedding dresses?" Ms. McKessie asked sitting down with a plate.

"Mom," Taylor groaned, "we're not even engaged and you're already asking that?"

It shouldn't have come as a surprise, though. Chad heard her mom bring it up enough times. Ever since he and Taylor got back together it was a constant question. He supposed it was only natural, of course. Ms. McKessie didn't exactly have the best course of relationships. She hadn't been very vocal about them, but she made her disdain for most men pretty obvious. And with Taylor's older sister not exactly making the best choices in guys either it was only natural that Ms. McKessie would push the idea of marriage with Taylor. Especially when it was a guy she approved of. She wanted what was best for her daughters and Chad could see that. Of course the talks Chad got from his parents about marrying Taylor were completely different. Ms. McKessie bringing it up so much was simply annoying. Mr. and Mrs. Danforth took it to the level of embarrassment.

"Alright, alright, I'll change the subject," Taylor's mom gave in. She turned to Chad. "When do you start your job hunt?"

"Not sure yet," Chad admitted. "To be honest, I'm still getting used to the idea of not going to school anymore."

"You majored in Physical Education, right?" she asked.

Chad nodded.

"Might I suggest sending in some applications for summer camps before school lets out in a couple of weeks?" Ms. McKessie told him. "I'm sure there's some places that are still looking for an athletic instructor."

It wasn't much, but it was the only lead Chad had currently. And with two weeks left on the school year for the kids, he certainly had nothing to lose. If anything it'd give him a good summer job and something to put on his resume. "I'll start looking Monday and see what I can find. But I'll keep that in mind."

"What about that basketball camp you went to?" Taylor wondered. "Could you see about applying there?"

"I don't know," he said. Chad was a little weary of focusing purely on basketball. He wouldn't say no to it, obviously, but after fifteen years of solely focusing on basketball only to find out he didn't want to spend his entire life doing that and put more energy focusing on Taylor basketball just didn't appeal to him much anymore.

"I'm sure you'll find something," Taylor assured him.

"Just apply to a bunch of different places and see if you can get some interviews," Ms. McKessie added. "Give it some time. It's not easy securing that first job. It might take a few weeks. It might take a few months. It might even take a year. But you will find something."

"And even if you don't I'll still love you anyway," Taylor promised.

Chad smiled and let out a laugh. "You're just saying that so you can have your own personal chauffeur."

"Maybe…" she said innocently with a giggle, earning herself a playful nudge from Chad.

"All right you two," Ms. McKessie sighed glancing at the clock. "It's eight o'clock. You'd better finish getting ready."

Taylor nodded and finished her breakfast. "I'll be right down," she said kissing Chad's cheek and then headed back upstairs.

Chad got out of his seat and began to assist Ms. McKessie in clearing the table.

"What do you think you're doing?" she questioned him. "Sit back down."

"I just thought I'd-" Chad started.

"You're the guest and I'm telling you to take a seat," Ms. McKessie insisted.

"But as the guest, shouldn't I help clean up?" Chad asked.

"Honey, do you see what I'm holding?" she asked him.

Chad glanced at the silverware in her hand. "Big scary knife?" Though he hardly thought such a big knife was needed for cutting something like pancakes.

"Yes. A big scary knife," she nodded. "And you don't want to mess with a woman who's holding a big scary knife. So if you know what's good for you, you'd best be sitting your butt back in that chair."

"Yes ma'am," Chad nodded quickly sitting back down. He remained there quietly until Taylor reappeared. She fixed her blazer and then approached the mirror in the living room to adjust her tie. "Do you need help with that?" Chad asked.

Taylor let out a laugh. "Chad, you cannot tie a tie to save your life. I've got this."

"Oh," he sighed. Chad was hoping to use it as an excuse to kiss her. But as if she were reading his mind, the second she was finished, Taylor spun on her heel and planted a kiss on Chad. He smiled at her. "You read my mind."

"I know what you want," she grinned. She then headed into the kitchen to grab her lunch out of the refrigerator.

"Taylor, do you need to dress so professionally?" Ms. McKessie wondered. "They've pretty much got you working your job as an intern for minimum wage."

"I'm just trying to make a good impression, Mom," she answered. "Hopefully if I can do all the work they want me to and more and show up looking like this, they'll know I mean business and I can handle more."

"I hardly think it's necessary," her mother sighed. "But if you think that's what's best."

"I do," Taylor answered. She kissed her mother's cheek and grabbed her purse. "See you at dinner, Mom."

"Have a good day at work," Ms. McKessie said. "And Chad, please get my baby there and back in one piece."

"Will do, Ms. McKessie," he nodded with a smile. He took Taylor's hand and led her out to the car. "After you," he said opening the passenger door for her.

"Thank you," she smiled getting in.

Chad closed the door and then got in on the driver's side. He started the engine and pulled out of the driveway. "Ten after eight," he read the radio clock aloud. "Think we're making good timing?"

"Perfect timing," Taylor smiled. "You just might earn yourself a few extra minutes."

"Sounds like pretty good odds," Chad grinned. He slipped one of his hands over hers, though kept his other hand gripped tightly on the wheel. "So think you'll be out on time today?"

"Who knows," she sighed leaning back. "I'll call you if it's any earlier but usually Fridays are when everyone is rushing around trying to get enough done for the weekend issue."

The Albuquerquian was different from most newspapers in New Mexico. Instead of letting out an issue every day, they summarized the biggest stories of the week. And unlike most papers or magazines that tried to report something as quickly as possible, The Albuquerquian took its time researching every aspect of a story and getting the facts just right rather than spreading some crazy rumors. Sometimes they'd let out two issues a week if there were some really big stories; that's what cramming on Fridays was for. It seemed like a nice, honest place to work at. But even during her internship at the paper, Taylor was very vocal about her disdain. She had a hand in the lesser part of the paper, the section with comics, word puzzles, advice columns and op-eds. As far as the paper itself was considered, her only part in writing any columns was doing research on politics for the writers that were too lazy to research anything themselves. Everything else for Taylor was spell checking. When those were done she would either be able to leave or her boss would be on her case about her not having enough work to do, hence causing Taylor to wash his dog. Chad questioned why Taylor took a permanent position at the place she hated so much. But Taylor was far from stupid; if she had a chance to get into the work force as soon as possible, she was going to do it.

"Just as long as they don't give you any trouble," Chad said. "I'll beat them up if they do."

While flattered by the lengths Chad would go for her, Taylor merely shook her head. "You can't do that."

"Sure I can," he responded. "I mean I know beating your girlfriend's employers probably isn't the most legal thing to do…"

"No, I mean you really can't," Taylor replied. "You could never beat someone up."

"Come on, I totally could," Chad defended himself.

She eyed him. "You can't even kill a fly on the wall."

"Hey that last fly was stuck in a spider web. It was really creepy," Chad answered quickly.

"You're such a lunkhead," she laughed resting her head on his shoulder.

"I know," he grinned. "But I'm your lunkhead."

That was the first way people could tell Chad and Taylor weren't a mushy couple. They didn't use cut petnames for each other. Sure there was the occasional babe or hun but nothing like cupcake or snooki. Those were just too over-the-top. Growing up as a nerd and jock obviously there was originally a distaste for each other. So Taylor came to know the jocks as lunkhead basketball men. But Chad was _the_ lunkhead. Even after they started dating Taylor continued to call him that. Chad didn't mind it at all; he liked being called her lunkhead. Sometimes he just wished he could come up with something more creative for her than just Tay.

"You always were," she smiled. There were a few minutes of comfortable silence until Taylor spoke again. "So I was wondering…"

"Yeah?" Chad asked.

"When you said one day you were going to make me your wife…were you serious?" she wondered.

"Of course I was," he answered. He then raised an eyebrow. "You didn't think I was?"

"No, it's not that," she shook her head. "I just…I didn't think you would come right out and say it. I didn't even realize you were already thinking it."

"I've been thinking it for a while," Chad admitted. "It would be nice to make it official and show everyone you're off the market, but we did just graduate. There's so much planning to do and stuff to get, we don't even live together yet and heck if I know when I'd be able to afford to get a ring…"

"Chad if you asked me with a ring from a vending machine I'd say yes," she interrupted.

"But you deserve more than that," Chad replied.

"You know, it always comes down to what you think I deserve," Taylor pointed out. "Why am I not allowed to decide for myself what I deserve?"

Chad shrugged his shoulders. "What, is there a deadline or something? Is there a guy you might be interested in?"

"No," she shook her head. "But there's always one day during the week where I have to run out and get pizza for lunch for everyone and it would be nice to show the cashier that I'm taken instead of just telling him every time."

"I can just as easily go with you there," he said.

"I can handle myself around guys just fine," Taylor responded. She unbuckled her seatbelt as they pulled in front of the building. "Why do you get like this anyway?"

"Get like what?" Chad asked turning to her.

"Defensive," she answered. "And you always think you know what I deserve and I tell you I can decide for myself just fine but you continue to fight it. Why?"

"Taylor do we really have to talk about this right before you go to work?" he asked.

"Yes we do," she argued.

"I don't wanna fight with you about this," Chad replied.

"Why not? We fight over things all the time," she responded.

"Yeah but I didn't think we had to fight over why we love each other," Chad said.

"That has nothing to do with it," she replied.

"It has everything to do with it!" Chad groaned.

"How?" she questioned.

"Because I love you, dammit!" Chad said exasperated. "And sometimes I wonder what the hell you even see in me when you deserve so much better. You could do better than me, Tay. You really can. But you choose not to. And that scares the crap outta me because I already lost you once and I don't wanna lose you again."

He made his statement loud and clear. But it was still a pretty silly thing to argue over. When you put two people with hot heads, passion and stubbornness together obviously there were going to be times where they bumped heads. And Chad and Taylor bumped heads plenty of times over some pretty silly things. But they never had to fight over something as silly as their feelings. Maybe that was why this fight was going so differently. Any other fight they would either have a screaming match or give each other the cold shoulder for a little while before finding some sappy way to apologize. But this was the kind of fight that didn't require a comeback to Chad's declaration. There wasn't any need for them to yell back and forth over their feelings. Instead, unlike so many of their fights, it was one where they both needed some time to themselves. They needed to cool down, let everything sink in and figure out where to go next. Chad caught onto that pretty quickly when Taylor didn't respond as quickly as she normally did. She'd be the first to stand up for what she believed in and fight tooth and nail to prove she was right about something. But this time she remained silent. So Chad knew that he must be giving her something to think about or that they were arguing over something that wasn't even worth fighting about.

That was when Taylor just picked up her purse and lunch and opened the door. "I need to get to work. I'll see you later, Chad."

There wasn't any other exchange between them. She didn't even bother to say she would take the bus and Chad didn't argue that he'd be there later anyway. They just silently went in their opposite directions for the day.

* * *

Yeah i know, not as soft and mushy and happy as the first one. Remember, Chad and Taylor fight, even over the stupidest things. And this was a pretty stupid thing to fight about! xD I don't even think that's where this chapter was supposed to go, though, but that's what happened. I don't know when I'm going to update this next but if I keep writing the way i am now it'll probably be soon. So my current plan is to put up another chapter of 16 and Pregnant (even though i still didn't write anything new for it) and focus on this story for a while. That is, as long as you guys are still interested in reading this story. xD


	3. Chapter 3

Ok so i know i said i'd post an update for 16 and Pregnant before i continued on with this chapter. Well...i lied. Sorta. I think earlier in July was the last time I worked on this story. I'm halfway through chapter ten right now and i realized there were only two chapters here posted. So i figured, what the heck. Hope you enjoy!  
**Disclaimer: I do not own HSM.**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

"Don't ask me how the flight was."

Chad barely even opened his mouth before those words escaped Troy. Chad arrived at the airport to meet his friend with plenty of time to spare. They found each other fairly quickly and of course shared a brotherly hug and greeted each other with the typical 'hey'. It was pretty casual for two people who were like brothers, actually. But when they pulled away and Chad was just about to say something, Troy cut him off. So naturally Chad looked at him confused.

"You don't know I was gonna ask you that."

"Don't need to," Troy answered. "I heard it enough from my folks every time they came and get me. First words outta their mouths were 'how was the flight?' I answered it about five times every year so it'd be kinda nice to say it one time less this year."

"Fine, I won't ask you about the flight," Chad grumbled.

Troy laughed and patted his friend's back. "That's the spirit. Come on, help me grab my bag?"

The boys headed to the luggage cart where Troy's bag was pretty easy to find. All they had to do was find the dark blue duffel with things like 'Troy and Gabriella', 'T+G' and 'Troyella' scribbled all over it in bright Sharpie markers. Those were all courtesy of Gabriella's younger sisters. But that was a story for another time. Chad helped Troy carry the heavy bag out to the car and then they left the airport and hit the road.

"So how does it feel to be graduated?" Troy asked.

"Weird," Chad answered. "It's like I don't even know what to do now."

Troy shrugged his shoulders. "Look for a job?"

"Yeah but it's not easy," he replied. "How am I supposed to find a job in a snap less than a month after graduating?"

"Well you don't," Troy said.

Chad raised an eyebrow. "Dude, didn't you like have some major interview or something?"

"Kind of," he admitted. "It's a long story. I'll explain over lunch."

"Fine, be that way," Chad scoffed. "So, when's Gabriella coming back?"

"Definitely a week," Troy said. "Her mom had a business trip and Gabs wanted to catch up with her. I don't think she wanted to spend a week with her stepdad and the twins without her mom."

"How come?" Chad wondered.

"Well how can Gabriella enjoy being home without her mom? And she should be there, Gabs is home for good now," Troy replied.

"Unless she goes back to California with you," Chad pointed out.

Troy held up a hand. "Nothing is set in stone yet."

"Doesn't have to be. She'd follow you in a heartbeat," Chad answered.

"Like Taylor would follow you?" Troy inquired.

Chad scrunched his nose. "I don't really wanna talk about that right now."

"Another fight?" Troy asked.

"You make it sound like we have one every other day," he said.

"Well you guys don't exactly get along all the time," Troy reminded him.

"Boyfriends and girlfriends are supposed to fight," Chad said.

"Yeah but not as much as you guys," Troy replied.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Chad rolled his eyes.

"Dude…" Troy started.

"Man, can we just talk about something else?" he insisted.

"Fine," Troy mumbled. "I'll stop butting into your love life."

"Thank you," Chad replied. "So where do you wanna go eat?"

Troy shrugged his shoulders. "Wherever."

"Well do you wanna go somewhere like BK or order someplace like Fridays?" Chad replied.

Troy shook his head. "Friday's is too expensive. I'm on the verge of broke here."

"Same here," Chad agreed. "So let's go to Burger King. Unless you'd rather raid your fridge at home."

"I guess we could do that, too," Troy agreed.

Chad steered the car off the next exit on the parkway, taking the nearest route to Troy's house. When they arrived Troy unlocked the door and dragged his duffel inside. "Need a hand, man?" Chad asked.

"Nah I'm good," he shook his head. "Just look through the fridge, see if there's anything good in there. I'll be right down."

"Alright," Chad agreed. As Troy went upstairs, Chad went into the kitchen and glanced through the fridge. It was fully stocked, most likely from Troy's parents recently doing food shopping. They probably wanted Troy to come home to a house full of food and make him a gourmet dinner his first night back or something. Chad just opted to grab some bread, cheese and ham and make a grilled cheese sandwich. Since he grew up with Troy, Chad practically knew where everything in the Bolton household was. He even knew how to work the oven and stove. He let the bread toast before putting the cheese on. By the time he grabbed a drink from the fridge, Troy came back downstairs.

"Find anything good?" he asked.

"Just going for a sandwich," Chad shrugged his shoulders.

"Sounds good," Troy said. He reached into the fridge and grabbed some food to make his own sandwich. He stuck to putting ham, lettuce, onion and tomato on it. Once their sandwiches were made the boys sat at the counter and began digging in.

"So tell me more bout this job thing in California," Chad told Troy. He hesitated for a moment after realizing he started eating his hot sandwich a little too quickly and had to swallow it down with a drink.

Troy laughed at his antics before answering. "Well my theater professor knows a guy. He runs a community center in southern California."

"What, like near DisneyLand?" Chad asked.

"I played basketball and majored in theater. Not geography," Troy responded. "Anyway I had to go there to meet up with the guy. The community center's really nice. They got everything there. Baseball field, basketball court, stage, arts and crafts room, sewing room…"

"So what exactly does this guy want you to do?" Chad asked.

"He wants me to help run the theater. Every Christmas, spring, summer and September they got plays going on. You know, some bigger than others. They do a holiday-themed one at Christmas, they do kind of like this medley of scenes from different musicals during September…that kinda stuff," Troy explained. "He wants me to help choose the plays, meet with the kids and volunteers who go there, help work out the schedules and the auditions."

"What, no billboard with your name on it as any leading role?" Chad joked.

"Not exactly," he shook his head. "But the option of starring in a play is always open. And he said during the rest of the year, if I wanted, I could help coach the kids in basketball. Give them a little something to look forward to and get out of the houses a little if their lives suck there."

"Are you gonna go for it?" he wondered.

"I don't know," Troy admitted.

Chad raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean you don't know? Come on man, it's a great opportunity. When you're not shooting hoops you get to do the musical deal."

Troy chuckled. "For someone who tried to sabotage mine and Gabriella's chances of getting into the winter musical junior year, you're really getting into the whole 'Troy's an artist now' deal."

"So you want me to stop being supportive?" Chad inquired.

"No, not at all," he shook his head. "It's just a little surprising, that's all."

Chad sighed. "Yeah well it's kinda easy to see where you were coming from. You tried something different and you ended up really liking it, so you went for it. And it ended up being something you really wanted to do. You had that moment where you were like 'damn screw the NBA, I'm doing musicals!'"

"That's not exactly what I said…I didn't even say that," Troy replied.

"My point is it gave you a direction to go. You had a Plan A. Heck you even had a Plan B after that," Chad said. "I'm still waiting for that to hit me. My only plan was to play in the NBA and even when I realized that wasn't gonna work out or I didn't wanna do that, I didn't know what else to do. I kept my major the same, I mean yeah I tried a few different classes but nothing hit me like it hit you. You're lucky, Hoops. You got two things you love to do now. And you got a chance to do both. So why not go for it?"

Troy ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't know, man."

"Well what's stopping you?" Chad asked.

"Gabriella," Troy answered a bit sheepishly before sipping his drink.

"What do you mean?" Chad asked.

"She almost decided to stay here and go to U of A because that's what I was gonna do," Troy explained. "I almost uprooted her life. I don't wanna risk doing that. And this time it wouldn't even be for a few years. This isn't something like if it doesn't work out we can just move back home and figure something else out. This is our _life_ now. If we were still in school, we could figure out someplace else to transfer to and maybe be off for no more than a semester. If I leave and go to California and she comes with me there's a lot more to lose. If she can't find a job she can't just move back here and find one in a snap. Heck, if I don't like it there I can't move back here and find a job in a snap. And what if I don't like it there but she does? Then what, man?"

Chad rubbed the back of his head. He had no idea Troy's feelings were so strong or that conflicted. He wasn't even sure what to tell him. But there were a few things Chad knew for sure. He knew that Troy loved Gabriella more than anything. And it wasn't even like they were dating; they were engaged. Their wedding was in a few months. Whatever Troy decided could completely change not just his life, but Gabriella's. Troy couldn't make a decision without consulting her now. But that's when Chad realized something. Troy couldn't make a decision without consulting Gabriella. They were going to get married. Their lives would be intertwined forever. They got to where they were now because of how they felt about each other. And if Chad felt the same way about Taylor that Troy did about Gabriella – and Chad did – then he couldn't just decide for himself what she deserved or what he thought was right for her. Maybe that was why she got so ticked off that morning, because Chad was being stubborn and deciding everything when he shouldn't be. Maybe, as much as he knew that he wanted to be with her, before they could make it forever Chad still had a couple of things to learn first.

"Does Gabs know about the job?" he finally asked.

Troy shook his head. "Not in detail. So far I just told her there was an offer and I was gonna find out more."

"So what are you gonna tell her, exactly?" Chad wondered.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Not sure. I mean I know she liked California. But I also know that Albuquerque is the first place that's felt like home to her."

"So what, you're gonna let her decide for you?" Chad asked.

"Kinda," he admitted.

"Why man?" he replied.

"Cause I know no matter where I live, I'll make it feel like home. I'll still be in contact with you and Mom and Dad all the time, that's not gonna change. I'm open to new things. I went to California, I tried something new and it felt great. I made it work for me for four years and I can make it work again," Troy explained. "But it's different for Gabs now. Ok, so her mom's still gonna travel a lot and do work. But now Gabs actually has more family. She'd got a stepdad and sisters now."

"I'm not following," Chad shook his head.

"Before her mom got remarried, she was all Gabriella had. And Gabriella told me that if her mom hadn't gotten remarried, then after Stanford she'd probably move back to Albuquerque and wanna stay here because it was the first home she's felt like she's had," Troy said. "Now, Gabs wants to give her mom some space. She's lived her life under that roof; she doesn't need to be her mother's baby anymore. Now she probably thinks her mom deserves some time with her husband and two new kids and let them be a family like she never had. She's more ready to be on her own now. You know?"

"I guess," Chad said even though he really didn't. He had no idea how Troy knew Gabriella so well; how they were able to read each other without even saying anything. He guessed that was just how love works sometimes. Troy and Gabriella were just that in tune with each other.

Troy held his hands up in surrender and picked up his sandwich. "Alright, enough about me and my drama. What's going on with you and Taylor?"

Chad rubbed his head. "Just a fight this morning."

"You make it sound like it's no big deal," Troy said.

"Well it's not…sorta," Chad replied. "I know what went wrong."

Troy let out a laugh. "How'd you screw up this time?'

It was a weird thing for a couple of guys to talk about their feelings. Guys weren't like girls who went into details about everything. They kept it short and simple. But when you put two grown men together who have been like brothers since preschool, it was hard to keep emotions bottled up. Chad and Troy weren't just like brothers. They were brothers. And if they didn't know exactly what was bothering each other, they had to talk about it.

"Sometimes I just think Taylor deserves better than me. And now that we're done with school and moving on with our lives, I think I'm actually starting to believe it," Chad admitted.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up," Troy said right away. "You've snapped your cap, man. No one is better for Taylor than you."

"I know…. I actually know," Chad replied even though he still had a hard time believing it. "I know because it wouldn't be true if we got back together and we're staying together. But she's moving on with her life. She knows what she wants to do and she's sticking to her guns. But I don't know what to do now. And if I can't figure that out, how am I supposed to figure out a life with her?"

Chad had hinted before to Troy that he was pretty serious about Taylor. But this was the first time he actually confirmed it.

"Dude…" Troy started. It took him a moment to piece his words together exactly right, but the answer itself was simple. "She'll wait for you."

"You really think so?" Chad asked.

Troy nodded. "Unless you keep talking to her like that. Then you're gonna push her away and she'll really start to think she can do better. But maybe you just need to focus on you. Stop being insecure and wondering what she really wants and just figure out what it is you want. You'll still have plenty of time with her."

Chad thought about it for a minute. He'd spent so much time the last few years focusing on Taylor and mentally planning his life with her that he forgot to figure out what he wanted to do. Combining that kind of uncertainty with insecurities and maybe a slight tendency to get jealous once in a while wasn't good. It didn't mean he had to spend any less time with her or think about her any less, but it did mean he had to buckle down and figure things out. If anything else, he did have to get some kind of job doing something until he knew for sure what he wanted.

"Thanks man," he said.

Troy smiled and patted Chad's shoulder. "Any time, man. Just keep the best man slot opened for me and we're cool."

Chad laughed. "Yeah, like I really have another best friend for that."

After lunch the boys spent a couple of hours catching up on their rest of their lives. Around 4:30 Chad headed out to go get Taylor. Even if they were still fighting, Chad wasn't going to let her just take the bus home or wait for her mom to get out of work. Of course she'd end up fighting him about it and Chad knew that, but he was still going to convince her to let him drive her. So when he parked the car in front of the office he waited outside patiently until he saw Taylor. Their eyes met and they stared at each other for a minute. Chad wanted to open his mouth and say something, but he opted not to. There was clearly still some tension between the two of them so Taylor started walking away. Chad shook his head and quickly ran over to her. He gripped her wrist tightly and glanced to the car, signaling that he wanted to take her home. Sure, he could have just as easily said, 'I'm sorry, do you still need a ride home?' But he chose the silent approach instead. Even though they were a couple that often verbally – and at times physically – expressed how they felt, sometimes silence went further and spoke greater volumes. Taylor merely gave a nod and walked with him to the car.

The ride home remained silent. Neither of them dared to say anything, but the occasional glances they stole from each other said otherwise. They both wanted to speak, but it was a matter of what to say. Their pride made it difficult to say sorry easily. Eventually Chad pulled up to Taylor's house. There remained a silence between them, possibly out of fear that they wouldn't talk to each other after that or neither of them wanted to risk saying the wrong thing again. It was awkward, yes, but it was better than the alternative. Evidently they did look at each other. But instead of one making a move, Taylor's eyes were directed towards her house and seconds later moved back to Chad. Chad took it as an invitation to come in, to which he responded by unbuckling his seat belt. He waited for a reaction from Taylor and then she got out of the car. Chad followed her to the front door and they both went inside. As Taylor set her things down and unbuttoned her blazer Chad sat on her bed pondering about what his next move should be. He tapped his fingers on his lap for a moment, and then glanced over to her. He wanted her to know that there was always going to be that fear of losing her because as tough and confident as he could come across, Chad was scared. He didn't want to think about life without her again. But he also wanted her to know he wasn't as worried anymore. He just needed that reassurance and to know when to take a step back.

Taking a small deep breath, he got off the bed and approached Taylor. She stood in front of the mirror at her vanity, carefully undoing her tie as to not get in tangled. She glanced from the corner of her eye, as she saw Chad coming over in the reflection, but didn't move from where she was. He stopped behind her and rested his head on her shoulder, then gently wrapped his arms around her waist. There wasn't an immediate reaction, but when he felt her hands move over his, he tightened his grip and relaxed in his position. They remained like that for a minute before Taylor pulled away slightly so she could turn around and face him. Then they were in each other's embrace again, feeling right at home and like it couldn't have been a better fit. And when they shared a kiss it felt even better. They really could fight over the silliest things but in the end it was never a big enough fight to change how they felt about each other. In the end the comfort they felt in each other's arms and the sparks they felt when they kissed couldn't be something they felt with anyone else. Even though the kiss was soft and short, pulling away they could see in each other's eyes that they wanted more. Sometimes it was just that kind of kiss and a simple apology that made everything better.

"I'm sorry," Chad whispered.

Taylor nodded and leaned in to kiss him again. "I'm sorry, too."

* * *

Typical buddy-buddy chapter. There's gotta be one in these stories eventually. Obviously we need to see some of Troy to help Chad through these kinds of situations. Not that i think Chad always needs Troy's help, i just think sometimes Troy might be the only person he listens to for another side. xD And duh, Chad and Taylor were gonna make up! Not a lot of talking between them, i figured actions would speak louder than words with these two. So yeah, can't really think of much else to say with this chapter. As far as the next chapters and any other stories go, i actually have no idea when there'll be updates. One of my best friends is home for the summer and she starts grad school at the end of August so obviously we're trying to see each other as much as possible, which leaves little time for writing. Add in time for applying to jobs (that's a whole other story, because i had what an acquaintance described as the worst interview ever) and then of course there's other stuff to fill my time with that i can't think of. So i would assume, unless i am fortunate enough to score a job soon, that when my friends start school again that'll mean more writing...actually i think i say a lot that when school starts i write more but i have no idea how accurate that is anymore. Ok you know what, i'm getting insanely off track and i'm gonna shut up and go to bed. Hopefully, if i know what's good for me and don't want you guys all mad at me, i'll make sure to update something this month! 0.0


	4. Chapter 4

Well at long last (I have no idea how long, I lost count after a week) we have another chapter! Since everyone's been focused on going back to school (cept for me) there seems to be a lack of Chaylor stories so I figured I would help fill the void a bit. Hope you enjoy!  
**Disclaimer: I do not own HSM or any of the characters except for the ones I made up which otherwise have nothing to do with the movies.**

* * *

**Chapter Four**

Taylor heard the alarm on her phone go off at 6 a.m., same as it did every weekday morning. Even though it barely took her a half hour to get ready and the office wasn't too long a drive, she liked to stay on schedule. After growing accustomed to having classes at 7:30 since middle school she tended to keep the same thing going in college. Now it followed her into the work force, which allowed her plenty of time to wake up, have breakfast and get ready. But of course things tended to take a little longer when Chad was around.

After they made up last week she spent the weekend at his house – they often kept a few set of clothes in each other's houses. To an extent, she preferred sleeping over at his house to having him sleep over at hers. Her mom made them have the bedroom door open all the time so they wouldn't be tempted to have any 'fun'. Chad's parents were a little more lenient, but never let them go to Chad's room without echoing, 'remember we can hear you' every time. It wasn't as embarrassing as being forced to keep the door open, allowing her mother to make even the slightest make-out session awkward, but it was enough to not tempt them. Either way it wasn't a huge loss; Taylor and Chad didn't need to be intimate to have fun together.

Taylor reached over to Chad's dresser where her phone sat and she hit the snooze option. She never wanted to get out of bed when Chad was by her side. She loved feeling his arms around her waist or waking up and seeing his face before anything else. It was an image she would love to picture for the rest of her life. Even as she turned on her side to face him, she couldn't help but smile and stare at his sleeping face. He looked so peaceful; she just hated to wake him up. But if she didn't then there'd be no getting out of there and it was way too early in her career to call in for any 'sick days'. She lightly ran her fingers through his hair and caressed his cheek a little before pecking his lips.

"Hun it's time to wake up," she whispered.

"It's too early," Chad mumbled into his pillow.

"But I have to get ready for work," she replied.

Chad's grip tightened around her. "No, I don't want you to leave," he whined sleepily.

Taylor relaxed into his chest. She loved the attention and the closeness to him, but this morning was not the time for that. She had to hesitate a minute before responding; she'd have an easier time saying no to him if she were more awake. "The sooner I leave the sooner I can come back."

There was a pause before Chad answered.

"Fine," he gave in loosening his grip.

"Thank you," she said. She kissed him again before climbing out of bed. She opened one of the drawers where she kept a couple pairs of clothes; except for one tie there wasn't really anything 'professional' looking. It looked like she'd be going to work with a more casual look today. She pulled an outfit out and proceeded to change out of her tank top and Chad's boxer shorts. From behind her Chad got out of bed and threw his old Wildcats uniform over his bare torso.

"Want me to make you anything for breakfast?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Just a poptart will be fine."

Chad looked at her doubtfully. He waited until she finished putting her shirt on, then wrapped his arms around her. "Tay…"

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Fine," she caved, "how about half a toasted bagel with cream cheese?"

"That's more like it," he smiled. He pecked her cheek and then headed downstairs.

Taylor shook her head as she finished getting ready. Sometimes she felt a little spoiled by Chad; he always had to do things for her. But it wasn't like he was any different; he refused breakfast from Taylor when he stayed over her house, too. Once she was finished she went into the bathroom across the hall where she set her tie on the sink counter and took out a headband and barrette from the cabinet. She then headed downstairs to the kitchen where she saw Mrs. Danforth hard at work making breakfast while Chad waited by the toaster oven. Taylor let a giggle escape her. Mrs. Danforth never let Chad help around the kitchen much. She loved cooking too much. According to her it was an Italian mother thing. Taylor wasn't sure if she bought it.

"Good morning Mrs. Danforth," Taylor greeted.

"Good morning sweetie," Chad's mom replied. "Sleep well last night?"

Taylor couldn't help but flinch a little. She knew what she was implying; but Taylor would swear to her that the giggles last name came from Chad tickling her during a movie. It was just Mrs. Danforth's choice not to believe her. The lady liked to take the embarrassing approach to dealing with things; no one would dare do anything that their mother could use as dirt over them later. But as far as Taylor was considered, Mrs. Danforth was more laid back than her mother; she didn't insist on Taylor calling her by her first name. She was a kind, funny lady; it was easy to see where Chad got his sense of humor.

"I slept fine. Chad was very comfortable," Taylor answered calmly.

"Nice save," Mrs. Danforth smirked. "Can I interest you in an omelet to go with your bagel?"

"No thank you, Mrs. Danforth," she shook her head.

"Oh…" she said disappointed. Chad's mom had a slight tendency to pull the guilt trip on someone when they didn't take food she offered. It was unintentional, of course, but effective.

"But I wouldn't say no to something for lunch," Taylor corrected. "Any recommendations?"

"I can make you some tuna fish as soon as I'm done with breakfast," she smiled. "Would you prefer rye bread or white?"

"Hold the bread," Taylor answered. "But maybe if you have any potato chips those could go on the side?"

"Not a problem. I've got a bag of barbeque chips just waiting to be open," Mrs. Danforth said with a smile. She finished making the omelets and sat them at hers and Chad's spots at the table and then got right to work on Taylor's lunch.

"Thank you," Chad mouthed to Taylor.

Taylor smiled at him and pecked his cheek. Chad liked to see his mom happy and Taylor knew that in the Danforth household, flattery would get you everywhere. That, and she really did love his mother's food. She especially made a delicious grilled chicken.

"So how do you like working with the paper?" Mrs. Danforth asked in an effort to strike a conversation. "Is it any different from working there as an intern?"

"Not really," Taylor shook her head. She watched as Chad took her bagel out. She tried to reach over him to put the cream cheese on herself but he wouldn't let her pass. She gave up after a minute and focused on answering Mrs. Danforth. "It's just getting paid for the same stuff I did for free."

"Do you see yourself working there for long or is it just a starting point?" she inquired.

"Maybe for a year or two," Taylor admitted. To be honest, she really hadn't thought past that. She only took the job so she wouldn't have to go looking for a year fresh out of college. She wasn't even sure what kind of career she'd look for. A Bachelor's degree in Political Science could only get her so far and if she wasn't going to become a politician she needed a new plan. The classes she took in journalism allowed her to secure what was now her job, but writing wasn't exactly something she imagined herself doing. Taylor was far from creative. She couldn't come up with a spontaneous idea or write down her feelings. Even when she took an art class at UNM she couldn't draw in a manner that was creative or 'artistic'; she instead drew something exactly how she saw it. Her passions were in problem solving and logistics. But if she could write about politics the way she saw them and share ideas that she'd use as a politician then perhaps a career in journalism wasn't so farfetched.

"Well I'm sure it will all work out," Mrs. Danforth promised. "Life has a funny way of throwing curveballs at you."

"Like how you and Dad tried not to kill each other when you found out you were having triplets?" Chad joked.

Long story short, Chad's older sisters were triplets. So he kind of had a tough act to follow growing up. Taylor could see why, with the way his sisters treated him. They meant well, obviously, but sometimes they could be a little overprotective. And they had a bad habit of babying Chad.

"Don't remind me," Mrs. Danforth sighed. "I love your sisters dearly, but even now I still get the chills when they all burst through the door at say 'hi everyone' all at once in the exact same tone. I swear, sometimes it's as if they're one person."

"I think they're nice," Taylor stated sitting down to eat.

"You say that cause you never lived with them," Chad pointed out.

The three of them enjoyed a bit more small talk while they ate breakfast. When Mrs. Danforth asked Chad what he would do after Taylor left, he said he'd probably go back to sleep. Then she had to ask him about when he'd find a job. Taylor found it just as annoying as Chad did. She wanted him to find work just as badly, but she wasn't about to ask him every day if he found something. Taylor was sure the job hunt was also feeding into his insecurities; if Chad couldn't even get an interview how could he think he could do anything? She was sure it was something that could ruin his confidence. It was just something she'd have to help him take his mind off of later.

"What time do you need to leave by?" Mrs. Danforth wondered.

"Ten after eight would probably be a good time," Taylor said. "If I leave sooner I can get a really good parking space but then I'd have to wait fifteen minutes to be let into the office."

"You know I could always drive you and you wouldn't have to worry about parking," Chad pointed out.

"But my car is here," Taylor responded. "You'd have to pick me up after work so I could come here and get it."

"That's the point," Chad grinned.

"Oh you two," Mrs. Danforth giggled. She cleared her side of the table and set her dish in the sink. "I'd better get off to work as well. Taylor, your lunch is on the second shelf in the fridge. Help yourself to a bottle of water or can of soda. And Chad, if you're not going to look for a job today then please clean the living room. And don't hide Taylor's keys in an effort to keep her here."

"Ok Mom," Chad sighed.

Mrs. Danforth hurried upstairs to finish getting ready, bid the kids good-bye once more and then was out the door. Chad and Taylor were left to finish their breakfast and then cleared off the table. They rinsed off the dishes and then put them in the dishwasher. When that was done Chad turned to her.

"So how much time do we have before you have to go?" he asked.

"That depends. Are you going to drive me?" she wondered.

"It didn't sound like you wanted me to," he said.

"I love spending time with you but I can drive myself," Taylor replied. "Besides you didn't want to let me get out of bed. How do I know you're not going to let me get out of the car?"

"You don't," Chad smirked.

Taylor crossed her arms, thinking for a minute. "So what you're implying is, if we spend some time together now and you drive me to work, you'll let me out with no hassle?"

"I implied nothing," Chad replied. "You're the one who said it."

"How do you know I'm not just looking for an excuse to spend more time with you?" she inquired with a playful smirk. She knew it didn't make much sense the way she said it, but there was no way Chad was going to argue with it. She knew how to get his goat and turn it on. So it was no surprise when seconds later Chad lifted her onto the counter and they started a heated make-out session. As much as Taylor loved it, it lasted much longer than she intended it to. Forty-five minutes give or take. It took a lot of energy for her to pry off Chad and force herself to fix her attire and finish getting ready, but at least Chad knew how to move fast enough to get dressed and help her out the door in under ten minutes after that. He drove her to the office and got her there with a few minutes to spare – evidently not allowing her to leave without a few more kisses. Taylor left the car promising she'd text him during her lunch break and with one more kiss she headed into the building.

The office was a little on the small side. There was a long hallway connecting each of the rooms. Aside from a couple of meeting rooms and a small kitchen there was a copy room, the boss' room, two rooms containing the main writers, a storage room, and a final room where the rest of the writers were cramped. Taylor's desk was in the room in the back, the smallest room where the interns and newest workers were kept. And a water fountain. She had the privilege of sitting right across from the bathroom. It was less than appetizing. Though there were five desks squashed in the room, Taylor was lucky enough to be sharing it with only one other worker. That was Savannah, Sav for short. She was only a year older than Taylor; Savannah was the intern before her and hadn't quite moved up in the world of The Albuquerquian yet. She was also probably the friendliest person in the business. Savannah walked in about five minutes after Taylor did; the highlights in her dirty blond hair was always changing so she was fairly easy to spot in a crowd.

"Morning Taylor," she greeted.

"Hey Sav," Taylor responded sitting at her desk. "What's up?"

Savannah held up a large folder in her hand. "Got stuck taking the elevator up with the head honcho. He didn't waste any time giving us our assignments."

Taylor sighed. "How bad are they?"

Savannah propped herself on top of Taylor's desk and began flipping through the pages. "Pretty bad. Looks like there's a bunch of _very_ detailed topics that we should and shouldn't research for the week's issue. He's stressed to stay away from any dirt on the Kardashians."

"Like they're worth any dirt," Taylor responded.

Savannah shrugged her shoulders. "Chief's got a thing for one of them. Don't ask which one. It's either Kim or Khloe. I forget."

Taylor rolled her eyes. The boss came across as a very harsh if not disturbed man. "Anything in there marked especially for me?" she wondered. When there was a topic of politics, there was often a big T across the papers. The letter made the papers hard to read otherwise, but everyone in the office knew Taylor was there for political science. Some didn't want to admit she was actually pretty good. The way she worded things in her reports were things that no one else dared to say. Like how bad the government was, for instance; workers at the Albuquerquian liked to think that it was going to get better and the recession would be over soon, but Taylor voiced her opinion on the belief that it was going to get worse before it got better.

"Sorry, no," Savannah shook her head. "But there are a couple of articles in here from yesterday that haven't been spellchecked yet. Think you can use it to keep busy for half the day?"

"I'll see what I can do," Taylor said taking the papers. She turned to her computer and booted it up.

Savannah took her seat at her desk across from Taylor's and organized the remainder of the papers. She took the opportunity to strike a conversation, since things were often slow for them. It was a good way to pass the time. "So how's the boyfriend?"

"He's good," Taylor answered. "I spent the weekend with him."

"Did you get some?" Savannah smirked.

"Sav!" Taylor gasped. Savannah was one not to be afraid to share intimate details. If someone was good or bad, she wasn't afraid to admit it and critique every little detail in front of someone. She held her standards pretty high, actually. Taylor liked to keep personal matters…well, personal. She was never one for PDA. So when people saw her and Chad kissing in public they never knew what to expect. Sometimes it was hard for them to even believe Chad and Taylor did more than that. It was probably something that came with the two of them believing they'd be in the spotlight; cameras were always around looking for gossip and if a photographer saw a basketball player or budding politician kissing in public it'd go viral.

"Just asking," Savannah replied with a giggle. She got up and glanced over her shoulder at the picture of Chad on Taylor's desk. "But you know I'd hit that, right?"

"I'd prefer to get that image out of my brain, thank you," she said politely. Though Taylor more wanted to punch Savannah for even thinking it.

"Sorry," she apologized. "So when do I get to meet him?"

"Not sure," she shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, Chad has time. He's still looking for a job. But I don't want to pull him away from the search."

"So why doesn't he join us for lunch one day?" Savannah asked. "Tomorrow's pizza day. I'll order the food ahead of time, you and I can carpool and meet Chad and the pizza place, we'll mingle and then I'll let you two be on your merry way for an hour until the head honcho angrily calls you asking where you are and why he thinks you're going to be five minutes late."

"Descriptive," Taylor noted.

"I know how the head honcho works," she replied. "But if you call him Chief to his face, he'll go easy on you."

"Thanks for the heads up," Taylor said.

"So, think the boyfriend'll join us tomorrow?" Savannah asked.

"I'll ask him tonight," she answered.

"Donovin! McKyle!"

The girls turned to see their boss walk in. He had a burnt cigarette in his mouth; he was one to smoke before coming into work. There was a 5:00 aftershave and he was a little on the hefty side. The only calming aura about him was the Chihuahua in his arms. Needless to say, Ace Globe was not a friendly man.

"It's Dovyle and McKessie," Taylor corrected him with no fear.

"Spunk'll get you far, kid. But not here," Mr. Globe responded. He took the used cigarette out of his mouth and tossed it into the nearby garbage can. "If I call for Donovin and McKyle, I get Donovin and McKyle. Kapeesh?"

"Gesundheit," Savannah said bluntly.

Mr. Globe hit his forehead. "Just for that, you're in trash duty after lunch. Dig through the garbage around here, see if you can find any good gossip."

"In the garbage of a dog groomer, deli, Seven Eleven and Walgreens?" Savannah raised an eyebrow.

"Don't correct me! Just do it!" the boss insisted.

Savannah held her hands up in surrender before returning to skimming the folder.

"As for you, McKyle," Mr. Globe turned his attention to Taylor.

"McKessie," she simply corrected again.

"Whatever," he rolled his eyes. He pointed to his dog. "Snowball has an appointment at 10:30 this morning. He's going to get his fur washed, cut and dried, get his nails clipped and if he's a really good boy, pick him a nice dog sweater on the way back here. I'm putting you in charge of him." Mr. Globe looked at his dog and petted it lovingly. "Now you be a good boy for the nasty little intern, alright Snowball? Give Daddy a kiss and I'll see you at lunch."

Snowball wagged his tail and licked Mr. Globe happily. The boss then put the Chihuahua in Taylor's lap and left the room with the slam of the door. Taylor lightly rubbed Snowball's head before glancing to Savannah.

"Chief's easing up a little," she noticed. "He usually makes me wash Snowball myself."

"He probably had some extra cash. Guy spoils that dog rotten," Savannah replied.

Taylor looked at the dog. "I don't understand why he calls him Snowball though. He's not white. He's tan and black."

"Yeah, I don't think Chief has enough brains to realize Snowball's a girl," Savannah said. She and Taylor took notice of Snowball curiously looking around the room and looking like she was shivering a bit. "And I'm pretty sure she doesn't like Snowball," Savannah added.

"She looks more like Wynona."

"If I had to guess, she'd prefer to be called George."

"But she's a girl."

"And she'd like you to respect her life choices."

* * *

Did you enjoy the chapter? I hope so, this one was kind of fun to write! I think, aside from the obvious Chaylor in it, it was also fun because I got to add a new character into the mix and I got to use a Doctor Who reference. (And yes, I know the 50th anniversary special is coming up and the 12th Doctor has been announced, thanks for the reminder. ^^) Even though Chad is my favorite HSM character (Ryan is a close second cause he's awesome and has the best hats) I don't think I like writing a story only in his point of view. It's not just about him, it's also about Taylor, so I wanted to try and set up where she's at and make it something a little different than maybe most people would expect. And hopefully everything altogether is as believable as possible. Including Savannah who has a very dirty mind, and my mind doesn't exactly work that way except in the most random times when something may not even be dirty or I'm just not paying attention so that was a little different to write. xD So I hope you liked this chapter and are happy to see an update. Feel free to review, I like getting reviews. 0=) Currently i literally just finished writing chapter fourteen before i posted this so maybe sometime during September will be a good time to share chapter five? If i don't feel free to remind me. :P Anyway i hope everyone had a great summer and will enjoy the world of back to school which i will continue to be very jelly of you guys for and i'll see you either in the reviews or in chapter five! :)


	5. Chapter 5

I got a lot of writing done this week so I thought i'd post another chapter. Plus i kinda needed to so i could hear feedback which i'll explain at the end of the chapter so enjoy everyone!  
**Disclaimer: I do not own HSM.**

* * *

**Chapter Five**

"I'm so glad to get out of that office," Savannah sighed with relief. She practically collapsed into one of the booths as soon as she and Taylor arrived at the pizzeria. "I don't know how we do it there every day."

"I normally don't believe in magic, but I'm tempted to say that's exactly how we get by," Taylor answered sitting across from her.

"We need to start our own paper or something," Savannah said. "Then we can quit in the most unsanitary way possible!"

"I'm not even going to ask," Taylor shook her head.

"Hey girls."

Taylor and Savannah turned to see the typical cashier, Matthew. He came across as very other cashier in TV shows - friendly, a little clumsy, kind of nerdy-looking, and he took his job extremely seriously. He also happened to be the cashier that hit on Taylor every time. She wasn't the only one he tried coming onto before, but she was the only one who didn't laugh. Or give him a hard time. Taylor regretted not tearing off the bandage instead of pulling it slowly. So until Chad got there, both she and Savannah were stuck with Matthew.

"Hey Matthew," they said less enthusiastically.

"The pizzas will be ready in about ten minutes," he told them. He then leaned against the table and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to pull off the cool person persona. "Can I get you anything else?"

"No thanks. We're good. Gratzi," Savannah said simply.

Matthew raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Oh, you speak Italian?"

"No," she answered. "But unless you want to get cursed out in German I suggest you back off."

Matthew held his hands up in surrender and took a step back. He turned his attention to Taylor. "What about you Taylor? Can I get you anything?"

"Actually, you can," she answered. "Two slices, one plain and one pepperoni, a large Mountain Dew and half a dozen garlic knots."

"Oh, I see," he smiled. "Planning on meeting someone here?"

"Yes. My boyfriend should be here any minute," Taylor said.

"Well maybe he's already here," he said flirtatiously.

Taylor glanced at Savannah. She tried sending her a 'help me' kind of look, but Savannah just held in a few giggles and shook her head. Taylor rolled her eyes. Some help she was. But she changed her tune when the door opened and she saw Chad walk in. "Yeah. There he is," she smiled pointing to Chad. She let loose from Matthew's grip and walked over to Chad.

"Hey, sorry I'm a little late," Chad apologized kissing her.

"It's fine, you're just in time," she told him. She glanced back to Matthew. "Now about those slices and garlic knots?"

Matthew sighed and slumped back towards the counter. Chad raised an eyebrow while he and Taylor sat across from Savannah. "What's his deal?" Chad asked.

"The frog that thinks Taylor's gonna turn him into a prince," Savannah answered.

Chad briefly glanced towards Matthew. "What exactly does he have going for him? You know, besides the job?"

"That's it. Just the job," Savannah shrugged her shoulders. "You'd have to be pretty desperate to hit that."

"The peanut gallery," Taylor informally introduced Chad to Savannah.

"Guilty as charged," Savannah giggled. She pointed at Chad. "Has anyone told you you're hot?"

"Uh…" Chad seemed a bit taken back by her comment. Taylor was, too, actually. She hardly saw anyone bold enough to say to Chad's face how hot he was. But then again, this was Savannah. The faded pink streaks in her hair now replaced with neon blue ones should have been a dead give-away. "Uh…my girlfriend?" Chad finally answered.

Taylor had to admit, it was kind of entertaining seeing Chad flustered so easily. "Sorry," she apologized trying not to giggle. "I should have warned you about Sav."

"Yeah, you should have," Chad responded.

"Don't worry, I won't bite," Savannah promised. "I mean, I do bite, but not my friend's man."

"Thanks…?" Chad replied in a confused tone.

"Taylor, order's ready!" Matthew called.

"That was quick," Taylor noticed.

"He's probably going to try to score more time with you," Savannah teased.

"He's not getting any," Taylor shook her head.

"I'll take care of this," Chad said. He reached into his pants pocket.

"What are you doing?" Taylor asked him.

Chad shrugged his shoulders. "Getting out money to pay for lunch."

Taylor put her hand on his arm. "Who's working?"

Chad sighed. "You."

"And who do you drive to work on a near daily basis?"

"You."

"Uh-huh, and when we were in third grade who convinced you that if you threw a basketball over the fence out of the schoolyard it'd fall into an alternate dimension?"

"You…. Wait, what does-"

"Exactly," Taylor smirked playfully. She pulled a ten-dollar bill out of her wallet and handed it to Chad. "So the least I could do is pay for lunch. Try not to cause any trouble."

"Who, me? Nah," he joked. He took the money and went up to the counter.

Savannah raised an eyebrow at Taylor. "Did you really?"

Taylor shrugged her shoulders. "He stepped on my book during recess that day. He had it coming."

Savannah laughed. "Girl, you are hot on the grudges!"

"Please, you should have seen me run the yearbook in high school," Taylor responded.

Savannah leaned over to try to get a better look at Chad and Matthew. "He's sure taking a while just to get you two lunch."

Taylor glanced over her shoulder and then looked back to Savannah. "I'm sure it's nothing. Chad's probably just trying to tell him to back off."

"I don't think so," she shook her head.

"Sav, it's not like they're having a contest," Taylor replied.

"Maybe not, but I'm not leaving with those pizzas until I find out," she said.

Chad walked back over with the tray of food and placed it on the booth. "One plate of garlic knots, one slice for you, and here's your change," he said.

"Thank you," Taylor smiled. She took the change from Chad and put it back in her wallet.

"Thank you for lunch," Chad replied.

"So what took so long over there?" Savannah asked.

"Guy's a douche, that's what," Chad answered.

"Oh no," Taylor rolled her eyes. "What happened?"

"He had the nerve to ask me how much you were paying me to pretend to be your boyfriend so he'd back off," he answered.

"What?" she gasped. "The nerve of that little…. Like I even bet money on anything before!"

"What about last year when…" Chad started.

Taylor held up a finger. "Don't talk about it," she cut him off.

"But that involved money."

"Not to pay someone to back off, it didn't."

"But you just said you never bet money on anything before."

"And I never did."

"But last year…"

"I'm not talking about this."

"Ooooh, sounds juicy," Savannah clapped her hands. "Do tell."

"There's nothing to tell," Taylor insisted.

"I don't know, I got plenty to tell," Chad said.

"What is it? What is it?" Savannah asked eagerly.

"Well, you know how in college people's idea of going crazy involves getting drunk at a party or something?" Chad asked.

"Been there, done that," Savannah grinned.

"Well Taylor's idea of crazy…" Chad started.

"You are not telling the story!" Taylor insisted.

"I'm telling the story," Chad responded before turning back to Savannah. "Taylor's idea of crazy was secretly playing poker on campus. And when she ran out of cookies to bet with, she threw in money."

Savannah quirked an eyebrow. "Strip poker?"

"No, just poker," Chad shook his head.

Savannah thought for a minute. "So then, what's the code for 'cookies'?" Leave it to Savannah to try something dirty in everything.

"That's just what they were. Cookies," Chad explained. "Chocolate chip cookies were a dollar, the ones with m&m's were five dollars, sugar cookies were ten…"

Savannah looked at her friend disappointed. "Really, Taylor? Out of all the crazy things to do in college, _that's_ your idea of crazy?"

Taylor hit her forehead.

"Anyway, back to what's-his-name over there," Chad changed the topic.

"Matthew?" Savannah asked.

"Yeah, him," Chad nodded. "First he said, 'so you're Taylor's boyfriend? How long?' 'Going on three years.' And that's if you don't count the time in high school. And he didn't believe me. He actually asked how much Taylor's paying me to pretend we're dating."

"Guy's got some nerve," Savannah said.

"I know," Chad agreed.

"Please tell me you didn't do anything," Taylor said.

Chad shrugged his shoulders. "All I did was ask him if he wanted money for the food or not. So he grabbed it, gave me the food and change and I came back here."

"Just be careful. He's probably going to watch you the entire time you're here," Savannah warned them.

"Let him. I don't care," Chad said slipping an arm around Taylor.

"Good luck with that," Savannah said. She saw Matthew wave her over. "Looks like lunch is ready. I'd better bring that back to the office. See you in an hour, Taylor." She grabbed the pizzas, paid for them and then left the pizzeria.

"So, how was work this morning?" Chad asked Taylor.

Taylor didn't say anything. She just quietly munched on her pizza.

"Ok, what'd I do this time?" Chad sighed.

"Why did you tell Sav that story?" she questioned.

"Cause it's cute," he answered.

"It's not cute, it's embarrassing," she replied.

"Ok, so you can't exactly be trusted around a deck of cards," Chad shrugged his shoulders. "It just means we never take you to Vegas."

"I'm serious," she told him.

"So am I," he replied. "You shouldn't play cards and I shouldn't play the claw machine. We're bad gamblers."

Taylor didn't say anything. She just continued eating. It was silly, really. She tried so hard to portray herself as this strong, smart, independent and level-headed woman when she couldn't even play a simple game of cards without letting her competitive nature get the best of her. It was like a bad one-night stand; something Taylor wanted to forget about. Maybe it was more like insecurity. But Chad was learning to get over his insecurities with her, so why couldn't she get over her own?

Chad fiddled with one of the garlic knots. "So…Sav seems nice," he stated before sipping the drink.

"She's a little out there but she means well," Taylor said. "I think she likes Doctor Who but won't admit it."

"What makes you say that?" he wondered.

"She made a reference to one of the episodes. The one where they ended up in the old west and the Doctor took a horse named Joshua but insisted he wanted to be called Susan," Taylor explained. "Our boss has a dog named Snowball. He thinks Snowball's a he but he's really a she. I think she should be called Wynona and Sav thought Snowball wanted to be called George. And we need to call her that and respect her life choices."

"She doesn't like admitting she's into nerd stuff, does she?" Chad asked.

Taylor shook her head. "Not really. But I wouldn't put it past her to be interested in the series. It's got some great action-filled episodes. It seems like something she would like."

"Maybe she should watch with us sometime," he suggested.

"No, Doctor Who is our time. I'm not sharing it with her," Taylor complained.

Chad smirked playfully. "Sharing the show or sharing me?"

Taylor rolled her eyes and nibbled on her slice before mumbling, "You."

"Knew it," Chad grinned playfully nudging her. "You're so jealous."

"Well why should I have to share you?" she responded.

"You don't have a problem sharing me with Troy," Chad pointed out.

"Troy doesn't stare at your picture on my desk and work and say he'd hit you," she said.

Chad raised an eyebrow. "Why would she hit me?"

"Not hit you like that," she replied. "Like…" She tried figuring out the best way to explain it before whispering it into his ear. Upon hearing the explanation, Chad practically spit his food out of his mouth.

"Gross!" he gasped. "Why'd you tell me that?"

"You asked," she answered.

"Yeah well you could've waited till I was done eating," Chad replied.

"Sorry," she apologized.

"I'm sorry, too. For telling the poker story," he said.

She rested her head on his shoulder. "It's ok. I forgive you."

"Good," Chad smiled. He thought for a minute, back to the conversation with Taylor's friend before. "So, out of curiosity…what are the odds just you and I could play strip poker?"

* * *

Ok you know when Chad gets the last word in during a chapter it has to be funny, right? Good. I don't really remember what I was thinking of when I wrote this chapter, other than that it'd come full circle cause last chapter Taylor offered to introduce Chad to her coworker...that didn't seem like such a good idea it seems. Now i'm watching TV and being distracted typing this a/n here so i forgot where i was even going with this. Hm... Whatever. The point is, there's Chaylor, the updates on other Chaylor stories are slow right now so we all need a little of this to inspire us and keep our spirits up! I really need some of this right now cause the other day i got an idea for (i think this story) to make it much more dramatic and add an insane plot twist but it's way too early in the story for it to happen. That, and i only have up to like chapter eighteen written so obviously it doesn't happen between this chapter and that one. I wanted to write chapter nineteen this afternoon but i kept thinking about the stuff i wanted to write instead of what should be coming next and now it's distracting me and i can't take it! So i gotta be snapped out of it or something and focus. And i know you guys have that problem, too, so don't try denying it. ;) Ooooh look, more TV! I think i'll watch some more! Goodnight everypony! :)


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